Tiny Returns to the Dota 2 Meta with a Vengeance

Tiny, the struggling Dota 2 hero with one of the worst win rates in ranked Dota, is making a strong comeback in the mid lane. During the recent BetBoom Dacha tournament, Tiny was picked seven times and won six of those matches. He was also banned seven times, indicating his growing popularity among professional players.

Tiny’s resurgence is a stark contrast to his performance in The International regional qualifiers, where he had a dismal 39 percent win rate out of 23 picks. Even in regular ranked Dota, Tiny has a poor 44 percent win rate, making him one of the least successful heroes this month.

In April, Patch 7.33 dealt a heavy blow to Tiny, reducing his base health by 40 percent and nerfing his abilities such as Toss, Tree Grab, and Grow. These changes caused him to fall out of favor among Dota players. However, he has received some buffs since then, including improvements to the cooldown of Avalanche and additional slow resistance as he levels up his ultimate.

While most ranked players still prefer to play Tiny in the offlane, opting for a burst damage build with items like Blink Dagger, Echo Sabre, and Crystalys, the pros are now favoring Crystalys and Daedalus for critical damage. They also prioritize getting a Black King Bar to prevent stuns during team fights or ganks. Tiny’s classic combo of Blink into Avalanche stun, followed by Tossing the enemy into the air or back to a teammate, and landing a double-hit with Echo Sabre makes him a formidable force, especially against the top meta carries like Terrorblade, Faceless Void, and Slark.

Although Tiny struggles to scale into the late game, most matches end within 30 to 40 minutes, allowing him to snowball and become a burst damage machine if left unchecked.

As DreamLeague approaches, all eyes will be on Tiny to see how he performs. Additionally, players are eagerly awaiting the final patch before The International 12 in October to see what changes Valve has in store for him.